Paramilitary rangers abduct police constable in Pakistan

Karachi: The paramilitary rangers in Pakistan today raided a police station here and abducted a constable for allegedly having ties with criminal gangs.

The rangers personnel also fired some shots inside the Mominabad police station which is in Orangi town and manhandled some police officers before taking the constable away, a senior police official said. "They have abducted him and senior police and rangers officials have reached the spot to sort out the matter," he said.

Police constable Jan Muhammad allegedly had links with criminal gangs. Senior police officials have warned the rangers that if the constable was not released immediately they would lodge a FIR against the raiding party.

The relations between the police and rangers who have been more powers by the government in the ongoing clean-up operation in Karachi have been tense as both refuse to accept each others authority. On Thursday, the rangers issued a statement in which it claimed that an estimated Rs 230 billion per year were being generated in Karachi through various illegal means.

In the statement its spokesman said that billions of rupees gathered through illicit means including extortion, land grabbing, illegal hydrants, smuggling are funneled by political parties, influential men, religious organisations, militants and even landlords towards criminal and terror related activities in the Sindh province.